IMGT R, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system R 25 years on

Abstract

IMGT, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system (http://www.imgt.org) is the global reference in immunogenetics and immunoinformatics. By its creation in 1989 by Marie-Paule Lefranc (Université de Montpellier and CNRS), IMGT marked the advent of immunoinformatics, which emerged at the interface between immunogenetics and bioinformatics. IMGT is specialized in the immunoglobulins (IG) or antibodies, T cell receptors (TR), major histocompatibility (MH) and proteins of the IgSF and MhSF superfamilies. IMGT is built on the IMGTONTOLOGY axioms and concepts, which bridged the gap between genes, sequences and 3D structures. The concepts include the IMGTR standardized keywords (identification), IMGTR standardized labels (description), IMGTR standardized nomenclature (classification), IMGT unique numbering and IMGT Colliers de Perles (numerotation). IMGTR comprises 7 databases, 17 online tools and 15 000 pages of web resources, and provides a high-quality and integrated system for analysis of the genomic and expressed IG and TR repertoire of the adaptive immune responses, including NGS high-throughput data. Tools and databases are used in basic, veterinary and medical research, in clinical applications (mutation analysis in leukemia and lymphoma) and in antibody engineering and humanization. The IMGT/mAb-DB interface was developed for therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins for immunological applications (FPIA). IMGTR is freely available at http://www.imgt.org.